1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus for a vehicle provided in an interior member of a vehicle such as an automobile, and particularly relates to a display apparatus applicable to an interior member in which an airbag device is provided.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle such as an automobile, a variety of display apparatuses are used to display information for occupants such as a driver.
For example, an instrument panel provided, for example, in front of the driver typically displays information such as vehicle speed, engine speed, fuel amount, water temperature, and selected position of an automatic transmission, states of lamps such as turn signal lamps, and various warnings. In addition, the instrument panel includes a display screen of a navigation device, and display apparatuses of an audio device, an air-conditioning device, a clock, a fuel consumption meter, and so forth.
Such display apparatuses as above tends be increasingly used as higher-level functions are implemented in vehicles.
In the above-described situation, if a common display is used and various information can be displayed thereon by switching the contents of the display accessed through a menu screen or the like, an integral display apparatus can be provided, thereby allowing a viewing task performed by the occupants to be more easily performed. Furthermore, if the display uses a so-called touch-panel display having a position input device, an excellent user interface having improved operability and increased convenience can be achieved.
As a related-art of a display apparatus for a vehicle, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-096210 discloses a technology in which a touch-panel display is mounted in a pad portion provided in a central portion of a steering wheel, and an image displayed on the display is rotated by rotating the steering wheel.
Today, vehicles are equipped with a variety of airbag devices in interior members thereof in order to protect occupants when the vehicles are involved in car crashes or other accidents.
For example, airbag devices for frontal crash protection for a driver seat or a passenger seat are typically provided in center pads of steering wheels and at positions of instrument panels opposite the passenger seats, respectively.
In a portion of an interior member that covers such an airbag device, a fragile portion is formed by, for example, partially decreasing the thickness of the interior member. The fragile portion breaks when the airbag is expanded and inflated, and part of the interior member swings and opens so as to form a path for expanding the airbag.
The above-described center pad of the steering wheel and the position of an instrument panel opposite the passenger seat are positions at which the airbag device is typically provided. These positions are also suitable for increasing convenience when a display is provided therein. Thus, there is a demand for a display apparatus that does not interfere with the airbag device even when the display apparatus is provided in the vicinity of the airbag device.
However, the above-described related-art technology does not consider the arrangement of the display apparatus in which the display apparatus does not interfere with the airbag device even when the display apparatus is provided in the vicinity of the airbag device, and accordingly, how a path for expanding the airbag is ensured is not clear if the related-art technology is applied to an interior member that covers the airbag device.
In addition, when the airbag is expanded and inflated, the display is moved away together with the interior member. In so doing, it is not desirable that a sharp end portion of a display panel is exposed, which could injure occupants.